Year: 2014

Alkermes Plc said it planned to seek U.S. marketing approval for its experimental drug to treat the symptoms of schizophrenia after it succeeded in a late-stage study, sending the company’s shares up as much as 11 percent. The company said it would apply for marketing approval for a monthly dose of the injectable drug, aripiprazole lauroxil, in the third quarter of 2014. “Once monthly or even less frequent dosing is key, since it increases compliance rates in schizophrenia, reduces relapse rates and hospitalization costs and provides costs savings to the healthcare system,” Leerink Partners analyst Michael Schmidt said in an e-mail. Data from the late-stage study supported dosing of the drug once every two months, Chief Executive Richard Pops said on a conference call with analysts.

By Barbara Liston ORLANDO, Florida (Reuters) – Voters in a central Florida town will decide on Tuesday whether to re-elect their 93-year-old mayor for a record 20th term in office. Mayor John Land of Apopka, population 41,000, is facing opposition for the first time in a decade after finishing second in a four-way mayoral election in March. Research by the Orlando Sentinel newspaper, which covers Apopka, indicated Land is both the oldest U.S. mayor and Florida’s longest-serving mayor. His opponent in the runoff election is longtime resident and former newspaper reporter Joe Kilsheimer who lead in March with 2,354 votes, or 48 percent of total votes cast.

By Shereen Jegtvig NEW YORK (Reuters Health) – The more milk women drank in a new U.S. study, the less deterioration they experienced in their arthritic knees. It’s not certain that milk was the reason for the slower arthritis progression, researchers said, and the effect was not seen in men. “Milk is an excellent source of vitamins and minerals, dairy calcium and protein and has long been recognized for its important role in bone health,” Dr. Bing Lu told Reuters Health in an email. Lu, of Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, led the study, which was published in Arthritis Care and Research.

By Lisa Bose McDermott TEXARKANA, Texas (Reuters) – A Texas woman who complained to police that a drug dealer sold her a bad batch of marijuana that did not pack much of a punch has been arrested, police said on Tuesday. Evelyn Hamilton, 37, was jailed on Friday after also telling police in Lufkin, Texas, that the dealer refused to give her a refund. She was later released on $500 bail for a drug paraphernalia charge. She had in her possession a bag with a small amount of pot, said Lufkin Police Sergeant David Casper.

U.S. health insurers said on Tuesday they still expected cuts in government reimbursements for privately managed Medicare health plans for the elderly next year even after the Obama administration rolled back the steepest reductions. The government agency that oversees Medicare said late on Monday that on average, reimbursements to insurers for private Medicare plans would rise 0.4 percent, reversing what it said was a proposed cut of 1.9 percent. Republican and Democratic lawmakers had broadly opposed further cuts as well, adding pressure on the administration at a time when President Barack Obama's healthcare law was also under attack. After analyzing the final rate notice from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) and comparing it with their own models, health insurers said on Tuesday that the 2015 Medicare Advantage payment rates represented a cut to payments from 2014 levels.

By Daniel Levine and Edmund Klamann SAN FRANCISCO/TOKYO (Reuters) – Takeda Pharmaceutical Co Ltd said it would contest $6 billion in punitive damages imposed by a jury in the United States in a case that accused Japan's largest drugmaker of concealing cancer risks associated with its Actos diabetes drug. Eli Lilly and Co, Takeda's co-defendant in the case, was ordered to pay $3 billion in punitive damages by the jury in Louisiana on Monday. It also awarded $1.475 million in compensatory damages. Eli Lilly and Takeda have said they would dispute the verdict, which could include appeals to a higher court or filing motions asking the trial judge to set aside or reduce the verdict.

The weight–loss and health benefits of the Paleo diet aren't surprising to nutritionist Dr. John Briffa. "As the Paleo diet removes a lot of the foods that …